Showcases rarely seen materials that offer an intimate view of Rosa Parks and documents her life and activism—creating a rich opportunity for viewers to discover new dimensions to their understanding of this seminal figure. The materials are drawn extensively from the Rosa Parks Collection, a gift to the Library of Congress from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement, best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement". Parks became an NAACP activist in 1943, participating in several high-profile civil rights Rosa Parks (born February 4, 1913, Tuskegee, Alabama, U.S.—died October 24, 2005, Detroit, Michigan) was an American civil rights activist whose refusal to relinquish her seat on a public bus precipitated the 1955–56 Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama, which became the spark that ignited the civil rights movement in the United States. Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama, on February 4, 1913, to Leona (née Edwards), a teacher, and James McCauley, a carpenter.In addition to African ancestry, one of Parks's great-grandfathers was Scots-Irish, and one of her great-grandmothers was a part–Native American slave. Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama, USA, to Leona and James McCauley. She belonged to a middle class family. Her father was a carpenter, while her mother was a teacher. Her parents separated and she moved to Pine Level with her mother. Parks had one sibling, a brother named Sylvester James McCauley born on August 20, 1915 in Tuskegee, Alabama. He was Parks’ younger brother. After Parks moved to Detroit in 1957, she reconnected with Sylvester. Parks’ nieces and nephews were her only family. The family called her “Auntie Rosa” and she was a devoted mother figure to them. The brother of late civil rights leader, Rosa Parks, and brother-in-law of the late Raymond Parks. Son of the late Jim & Leona McCauley. Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy : Jan 10 2018, 0:24:05 UTC After attending Alabama State Teachers College, the young Rosa settled in Montgomery, with her husband, Raymond Parks. The couple joined the local chapter of the N ational A ssociation of the A dvancement of C oloured P eople (NAACP) and worked quietly for many years to improve the lot of African-Americans in the segregated south. Rosa Parks. Known throughout the world as the “Mother of the civil rights movement,” Rosa Parks' courageous act on December 1, 1955, changed the course of American history. Early Life Born February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama, Rosa Louise McCauley was the eldest of two children born to James and Leona McCauley. Rosa Parks's Symbolic Bus Ride, 1956 Seeking a reprieve from the death threats and other pressures brought about by Rosa's fame, the Parkses moved to Detroit in 1957 to be near her brother. Parks resumed work as a seamstress but remained an active spokesperson for the civil rights community. Rosa Parks (1913—2005) helped initiate the civil rights movement in the United States when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955. Her actions She lost her department store job, and her husband was fired from his barber job at Maxwell Air Force Base after his boss forbade him to talk about his wife or their legal case. The Rosa Parks As you look further into Rosa Parks’ family tree, you’ll find that her only sibling was her younger brother, Sylvester. Rosa’s role in the civil rights movement began to shape history when she refused to give up her seat and was arrested for civil disobedience, violating Alabama segregation laws. Rosa Parks the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor given to a civilian, and in 1999 the United States Congress honored Rosa Parks with the Congressional Gold Medal. Rosa Parks resided in Detroit until her passing at the age of 92 on October 24, 2005. On October 27, the United States Senate passed a resolution to honor Rosa Parks by Rosa Parks and Elaine Eason Steele co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development in February 1987, in honor of Rosa's husband, who died from cancer in 1977. The institute runs the "Pathways to Freedom" bus tours, which introduce young people to important civil rights and Underground Railroad sites throughout the country. 1 photograph : print ; sheet 17.7 x 12.6 cm (5 x 7 format) | Photograph shows a half-length portrait of Sylvester J. McCauley (1915-1977), Rosa Parks' brother, in his Army Air Corps uniform. Up from Pine Level Nobody knows exactly where in Tuskegee, Alabama, Rosa McCauley was born on February 4, 1913. The town newspaper reported that the skies were clear and it was unseasonably warm that day, but beyond that, and the fact that she was named after her maternal grandmother, Rose, virtually no reliable documentation exists on the early years of Rosa Louise Parks. Rosa Parks, the "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement" was one of the most important citizens of the 20th century. Mrs. Parks was a seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama when, in December of 1955, she refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger. The bus driver had her arrested. She was tried and convicted of violating a local ordinance. Her act sparked a citywide boycott of the After her arrest, Parks lost her job as a seamstress and moved north to Detroit where her brother Sylvester lived. From 1965-1988 she worked as an administrative aide to U.S. Representative John Conyers. She wrote several books, including an autobiography entitled Rosa Parks: My Story. Ten years after the 1977 death of her husband, Parks In 1980, following the deaths of her husband (1977), brother (1977) and mother (1979), Parks, along with The Detroit News, and the Detroit Public school system, founded the Rosa L. Parks Scholarship Foundation. Parks also co-founded, with Elaine Steele, the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development in 1987.
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